


Font of a Forgotten Past

by 8ee_Pup



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Flashbacks, Injury Recovery, Multi, core based incident, lots of puns, minor character death?, personal headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29805672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/8ee_Pup/pseuds/8ee_Pup
Summary: Sans and Papyrus are enjoying a nice dinner with Frisk. When Papy gets his outfit ruined and goes to change, deja vu occurs and the brothers go on their separate journey to find the truth.This was a fanfic that I had on my mind for awhile and the personal headcanon I had would make a nice story.This is one of my first fanfics so I'm not proud if there are errors.
Relationships: Original Character/Original Character/Original Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. A Bone-a-fide Dinner

Sans’s POV

It’s a beautiful night outside. The stars are shining, the moon is glowing, and on nights like these, monsters like myself are enjoying a nice dinner. It’s been a few years since Frisk had freed everyone from the underground. Humans are still slightly uncomfortable with our presence but we are adjusting. With Frisk as our ambassador and Asgore and Tori supporting them, we’ve been slowly getting more and more humans to trust us. Paps has gotten a lot better with his cooking and thanks to humans helping out, he’s actually reading the cookbook and making more than just pasta. He’s been going to culinary school for it. It seems like it was not that long ago when I was teaching him how to use blue magic. Now here we are enjoying a nice meal. Just me, Paps and the kiddo.“SANS, YOU LAZY BONES, YOU’RE ZONING OUT AGAIN!” I can hear my bro yelling at me, guess I was thinking about things for too long.

“heh heh. sorry bro. thanks for snapping me out of it. if it wasn’t for you, i might’ve just pasta-way. ashes to ashes. crust to crust. here today. gone tomato.” I compliment myself mentally for that one. I can see bro getting a look of disgust on his face, meanwhile the kid is trying to hold back their laughter.

“OH MY GOD SANS! WE ARE TRYING TO EAT AND YOU ARE RUINING THE FLAVOR OF THIS DELICACY WITH YOUR PUNS” Papyrus has this look like he secretly enjoys it. I know he would never tell me but I will always know how he feels.

“aw come on bro. I can tell you’re smiling” I remark. even though we’re skeletons and have a lack of lips, let alone any sort of muscle tissue, I can just tell.“I AM AND I HATE IT” Papyrus retorts “NOW PLEASE DON’T RUIN THIS DINNER, WE AREN’T EVEN HAVING PASTA YET YOU ARE GETTING QUITE….SAUCY WITH ME…NYEH HEH HEH HEH” I love my bro, he just always knows when to make a pun whenever he wants me to stop.

“heh. whatever you say, bro” I reply. I feel like I got my fill of his smiles for the day. Besides, he had a point that we weren’t having pasta. It was baked mozzarella chicken with tomatoes and a side salad. It is honestly one of the best meals my bro has ever made. I can tell he has worked very hard on it, but it seems through his efforts of trying his food, the chicken went flying right onto his shirt then down onto his pants. I was about to make a hilarious pun but Paps stopped me before I could even say a single word.

“DON’T EVEN START BROTHER. NOT TO WORRY. I SHALL GO CHANGE. AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO SHOWER, IT WOULD TAKE FOREVER FOR MY CLOTHES TO DRY AND GET THIS STAIN OUT. I WILL BE RIGHT BACK. SANS, DON’T ENCOURAGE THE HUMAN WITH YOUR PETTY PUNS WHILE I’M GONE.” my bro says before setting his napkin on the table, excusing himself to head to his room to change. I calmly make small talk with the kid since Paps was only going to be about a minute. I was honestly taken aback a bit when he said he was going to change. He hasn’t even been wanting to change out of that outfit since the costume party we went to back in Snowdin. He didn’t even have much clothes to begin with. I’m mostly expecting him to either come down in his jogger’s outfit, or that outfit he wears under his battle body that was used for his “date.”

“so kiddo. you doing well as ambassador? i’m sure tori is giving you quite the tu-toriel.” I see that Frisk smiles and giggles a little from my pun

“*I’ve been meaning to ask you Sans. Back when we were still living in the underground and I was capable of RESET. How much knowledge did you have?” I was taken aback a bit by their question. Sure the kiddo means well but when it came to resets I was a bit stumped about it, I felt like it was going to be a bit of a conversation so i decided to just sort out the space to have it just be Frisk and I so we don’t get interrupted.

“wow kid, jumping off the wagon immediately with a question like that.” I begin “well where to start? if i’m being honest here, i have no clue about the resets. there are bits of flakes here and there of deja vu. like the secret codes i share with ya and all. i just happen to wake up and it just seems like i’ve done all these things before. in the past i may have done some research about it but a lot of that is a blur.”

“*so do you have any idea what the machine in the basement was supposed to do?” I hear Frisk ask curiously. I swear, this kid was always wanting answers, wanting to help everyone and resolving their issues. “*or if you always had those time and space abilities. I guess I have a lot of questions to ask, but there is one I would like to know the answer to and it strays a bit from the topic. I notice you use your left hand a lot. I rarely see you use your right hand unless it’s for trombone shenanigans or for combing your skull. Other than that, it’s always in your jacket pocket. Any reason as to why?” Ok now that was a question I wasn’t expecting. I don’t mind answering since it wasn’t all that personal.

“heh. that old habit? i tend to hide it because i messed it up pretty badly when i was younger. Don’t remember how i did it but i think i was a teen bones when it occurred. papyrus was with me during the time but he wouldn’t know what happened. when it was messed up, i always tried to cover it up so i wouldn’t make him worry. ya know what i mean? over time i would show him that i’m still able to do things with my right hand but all the years of stuffing it into my pocket has just became an old habit of mine.” I chuckle to myself. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t remember and that Paps wouldn’t know what happened either. I think it’s best that the kid doesn’t know about my past. But I do have to wonder. What exactly was I doing back then with an injury and my bro nearby?

I decided not to dwell more on the topic and return the space to normal. I see Papyrus coming down the stairs in his fluffy bunny pajamas and a bathrobe. Guess we’ll be hitting the hay after dinner. I check the time and it seems like I was chatting with the kid longer than expected. A common downside to using that ability is that time still passes outside but communication between me and Frisk remains on a different plane. I watch Papyrus take a seat again and we finish eating up dinner, even if it had gotten a little cold.

After dinner, we all decided to watch MTT’s Tour of Leg Fashion while waiting for Tori to come and pick up Frisk. Gotta say, this robot has a way of capturing the audience’s attention. The guy may be full of himself but I will respect him because Paps is all gaga over him right now. He was always a fan, even when Mettaton was still a rectangle and would always try to send him fan letters whenever possible. Paps is really into today’s episode since it was about leg warmers. Hate to admit it but those looked comfy and I would love to wear a pair with my slippers. I hear the doorbell ring but I just relax into the couch. Bro gets a little mad that I’m not being a better host by going to open the door, but he goes to open it regardless. I can hear Tori and him talking about how their day went. I didn’t really bother to listen since it felt like I’ve been up for too long and was due for some needed sleep. I hear Tori and Frisk say good-bye to me and i wave them off since I was too lazy to get up or even say anything. Papyrus closes the door and turns off the TV before looking at me.

“COME NOW BROTHER. IT’S TIME FOR THE USUAL ROUTINE. MY BEDTIME STORY AND A PROPER NAP. 7 HOURS IS MUCH TOO LONG” I see him huff. I would like to retort that it’s called sleep but he would be too stubborn to listen to me. One of these days it will bite him back for not resting more but I think he’s too cool to even let that bother him. I just tell him ok, not wanting to move from his spot which just earns a groan from him. I lazily smile in victory when he picks me up and carries me upstairs to his room. I relax when he sets me on his classic race car bed before retrieving his favorite book, “Peek-a-boo with Fluffy Bunny.” I give off my classic smile as he makes himself comfortable in his bed and handing me the book. I open it up and begin to read it to him.It doesn’t take much time before I finish the story and he is fast asleep. I close the book and get up, setting it back on his bookshelf before taking one of my shortcuts to my room. My sheets are still in a ball since I haven’t really bothered to fix it so I just casually move it onto the floor and lie down on my barren mattress. After a long day of making sure my bro is happy and watching the kid, I close my eye sockets and without even knowing myself, I had fallen into a deep slumber. The familiar dreams beginning again.


	2. Familiar?

3rd Person POV

Sans is standing in what appears to be a lab, wearing a lab coat and glasses (somehow). He walks over to a tall figure wearing a long black cloak but his face is blurry, with no clear expression. The figure looks at Sans and begins to speak to him “Ah Sans, how is the research coming along?” He asks, his voice being without emotion but a slight hint of curiosity in them. Sans could never figure this man out. He has been only working for this person for a short time under the influence that he was a bright student that the mysterious man took an interest in.“so far the core seems to be in stable condition, and we are still trying to figure out if it is indeed possible to create a fabric in the space time to jump to a point in time where the barrier was non existent. I’ve got to admit doc, if this is going to work, which is a low probability, how can we know for sure that humans will trust us? you know the story better than anyone with what happened to the king’s children. wouldn’t it be better to just wait for the humans to have their soul taken?” Sans replies in an unsure tone as he looks at his boss quietly afterwards.

“You and most other monsters may see it in that way, Sans. But that is not how i view things. We shouldn’t stoop so low that we would immediately judge that all humans kill for no reason. We need to at least put some belief that there is still good in humanity and that anyone can change” The figure replies to Sans calmly “Do you find it to be right if you saw some monster beating up another one of their own kind and thought that the one doing the beating was at fault? There are two sides to every story. Not all are wanting to hear the other side. That is why I want to be that person that puts faith that there is still good in humans. I will put my own life on the line to try to prove that.” Sans sighs and his eye lights look aside ashamed that he even thought of something as to side with the king’s rule. Even though he has never really met another human before, he should at least learn something from someone who has had experience. Perhaps he can ask Gerson for more information about the war. That old hermit was there during that time. Hard to believe that was a little over a thousand years ago. Sans looks back at his boss “you’re right boss, that was a little selfish of me to think that way. I hope you are right about this. As for the research on traveling through time and space, there is a possibility that the very thing that powers the core is a key to finding results. Some of our other researchers went to observe the heat of the lava that the core gains it’s powers from and notices there are traces of magic emitting from it. Pyrope has managed to bring in the sample since he is one of the very few monsters to handle that amount of heat for a short period of time. we’re still trying to figure out as to why this is but hopefully we’ll get results soon”

“It’s better than nothing I suppose. I shall head to see the sample as well. We may have a lead if what you say is true” The man explains while jotting down some notes on his clipboard, his hands being a pale white color with holes where the palms should be. Sans was always curious how his hands are able to work like that but since he is supposedly a different species of monster, he prefers not to ask. “Sans, would you be as kind as to go fetch my phone from my office?” the figure speaks up.

“oh, of course Dr. G-“ Sans’s sentence gets cut off when he hears a loud explosion coming from the research facility, a small tremor coursing through the lab. Sans loses his balance and falls onto the floor, his ear bones feel like they’re ringing as he can barely make out what his boss was saying and holding out his holed hand for Sans to take. Before Sans could reach out to grab it, he feels a great tug from his mind as he is woken up from his dream, sweating slightly, by his younger brother, Papyrus. Sans turns to check the time and notices it is well past 9 a.m. Shoot, Papyrus must be annoyed that he slept for so long. How does his brother get by with only a few hours of rest a day?

Sans sits up from his mess of a bed and looks around his room. his laundry tornado in the corner with socks, notes and old joke books flying around. He glances at his nightstand which is on the other end of the wall from his sheet-less bed. A lamp resting on the corner and a small note, most likely from Papyrus, resting on the flat surface. He gets up from his bed to read the note quietly. The note basically telling him to get ready for the day as Frisk will be dropped off around 10 due to it being Saturday and Toriel needing to attend a meeting in the young ambassador’s place. Sans shrugs this off and puts on his jacket and slippers before heading downstairs. He gets one glance at Papyrus and his eye sockets go blank. It just couldn’t be. Papyrus wasn’t in his usual outfit or his pajamas. No, he was wearing that made Sans unable to utter a single word. His dream still being fresh but unable to remember the conversation or details except that outfit. It was just like the one in the dream. A white turtleneck sweater, black dress pants, black leather loafers and to top it off, a long black coat that drapes down to Papyrus’s knees, buttoned up and looking professional. He was still wearing his signature red gloves but other than that, Sans was pondering where Papyrus got an outfit like that and why it looked so much like that dream person.“SANS? ARE YOU ALRIGHT BROTHER? YOU HAVEN’T ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS ABOUT TODAY’S PLANS.” Papyrus tells his brother. He was showing concern since Sans was always making a pun first thing he came into the kitchen. Papyrus questions if it was the food he is making, the sock situation, in which he hopes Sans would pick it up soon, or if it is something else. Papyrus always expected it to be something but can never understand as to why Sans never gives him a proper answer.Sans is about to say something when he is saved by the bell, quite literally. The doorbell has rang, indicating that Toriel must’ve arrived with Frisk early. “I WILL ASK YOU AGAIN LATER. FOR NOW THE HUMAN HAS ARRIVED. PICK UP YOUR SOCK AND ABSOLUTELY NO PUNS” Papyrus tells his older brother as he walks to the door and opens it to welcome Toriel and Frisk in “AH WELCOME YOUR HIGHNESS. AND TO YOU TOO HUMAN.” Papyrus hums and looks at the two as they appear to be silent.

“My Papyrus, don’t you look spiffy today,” Toriel hums “is there a certain rectangle you’re trying to impress?” Toriel’s question gets Papyrus to blush and shake the thought away, denying that accusation as much as it would be great to receive a compliment from his idol. “NONSENSE MY QUEEN. MY BATTLE BODY IS IN THE WASH RIGHT NOW AS I CAN’T GET THAT STAIN OUT. AND I DIDN’T HAVE ANY OTHER APPROPRIATE CLOTHING TO WEAR AS MY JOGGING OUTFIT AND DATE OUTFIT WOULD NOT BE SUITED FOR A DAY LIKE TODAY. I FOUND THIS OUTFIT IN THE BACK OF MY CLOSET. AS MUCH AS I DON’T LIKE THE COLOR BLACK, I THINK IT MAKES ME LOOK COOL FOR SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME. NYEH HEH HEH HEH.” Papyrus hums in response.

“I see. Well I just wanted to drop Frisk off early as I am in a huge hurry. You know how they are with their schedule. I will be back around 6 to pick them up” Toriel hums before leaving after giving Frisk a goodbye hug. Papyrus shutting the door and turning towards Frisk. “NOW THEN HUMAN. ARE YOU READY FOR ANOTHER MAGNIFICENT DAY WITH ME AND MY LAZY BROTHER?” 

Frisk stares at Papyrus quietly before opening their mouth “*Gaster?” Papyrus looks at Frisk confused as to why they would say that. Though it feels like he has heard that name before “HUMAN, ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT? MY NAME IS PAPYRUS. YOU KNOW ME. BUT, WHO IS GASTER?”


	3. Who?

Sans’s POV  
I was at a loss for words with what Frisk just asked Papyrus. Does the kid know something that I don’t? But, why does that name sound so familiar? When I actually think about it, I’m almost positive that is the full name of my blasters. Is Gaster a monster? I’ll need to ask the kid when I get the chance. For now even Papyrus is as dumbfounded as I am.

“HUMAN? YOU HAVEN’T ANSWERED MY QUESTION. THIS GASTER THAT YOU SPEAK OF IS A PERSON RIGHT? ARE THEY ANOTHER HUMAN? A MONSTER?” I hear Papyrus ask Frisk this question that in all honesty I want answered too so I look at the kid expectantly for their answer.

“*Oh, sorry Papyrus, you just look so much like him. I think? I’m honestly not sure since I’m only assuming” Frisk says a little embarrassed. I look at the kid and ponder about it before asking them, “what do you mean by that kid? since we have time, why don’t we have a seat and you can explain to us” I offer to them to which they agree. I follow Frisk and Papyrus to the couch and take a seat, Paps sitting next to me. I watch as Frisk sits on the other side of me before beginning to explain what they meant by what they said.

“*During my time in the underground, I had experienced strange things. Hotland having these monsters in monochrome speaking about a scientist before Alphys named Gaster. They would talk about how his research would’ve changed everything. When I had saw one of them there when they weren’t there before, I had tried calling you Papyrus. But for some reason my phone wouldn’t turn on until i left the area.” Frisk begins to explain. I notice Paps getting slightly confused and I wonder myself if there was indeed a royal scientist before Alphys and why I haven’t heard about it before. “*The next clue I got was from the river person when I was taking a couple rides from Hotland to Waterfall. They had said two things “Beware of the man who speaks in hands” and “Beware of the man who came from the other world” I thought it was confusing that they would say that but when I asked, they wouldn’t say anything else. The last indication I received was back in Snowdin. I had received a phone call from someone asking for a G before they began singing the wrong number song” Frisk explains.“huh, seems like quite the adventure kiddo, but what does this have to do with Paps resembling this gaster that you speak of?” I ask carefully. “I HAVE TO AGREE WITH MY BROTHER ON THIS HUMAN. THOUGH IT DOES SEEM STRANGE AND PRETTY INTERESTING ABOUT THIS GASTER GUY, WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?” My bro asks the kid curiously to which I notice Frisk rub their head like they’re trying to think the best way to explain it.

“*Sans, you are aware of things happening within the space/time of the underground correct?” Frisk asks me carefully to which I nod, “*well some of those things that I explained really only happened once, but there was one more incident where I thought I actually met him. There is this hallway in Waterfall that I only accessed once where there was a gray door.” They said to which I replied, “where exactly?” I ask curiously.

“*In between the room with the crystallized cheese and your telescope. But when I entered through that door, there was a small room with a man just sitting there, not moving, I could walk right through him like he was just a sleeping phantom. His face was white with two large lines on his face that resembled cracks. He wore a gray-ish white turtle neck sweater and a black, button up lab coat very much like the one Papyrus was wearing. But the thing that got my attention the most about his features, were his hands. They were white but they had a large hole through each palm” Frisk explained while drawing an imaginary circle on their hand to indicate where it was. They way that they explained it sounded very familiar and when I looked at Papyrus, he looked scared and self conscious. I watched as he hid his gloved hands in the lab coat.

“i can see that is why you were assuming that they were gaster since they were in a space that could be considered the other world, but have they said anything that would indicate that they spoke in hands?” I ask Frisk but they shook their head in response “*As soon as I tried to speak to him, he got a shocked look and vanished. I never saw him since then. But there was something in the true lab that I could guess was his research. It was a dark space where suddenly there was a font I couldn’t read. I assumed that was his text. From all the things that were in the true lab, I thought they were all Alphys’s notes in regards to the Amalgamates but there was one entry missing. Entry seventeen. I looked up and down for it but I could never find it. I had to assume that the strange font had to be it. I could never translate it nor could I remember what the images exactly were. I thought i heard an odd voice reading it to me though.” Frisk says to us carefully “*The way it was written with a different font, I thought you guys might have relation to him. You never did tell me about your parents after all. What are they like? Is your dad possibly Gaster?” I froze at this question. I hadn’t seen my parents in years and I was too scared to say anything.

“HUMAN, I’M AFRAID I DON’T KNOW MY PARENTS, SANS TOLD ME THEY PASSED AWAY A LONG TIME AGO. AND IF WE’RE COMING CLEAN ABOUT THINGS WE DO NOT KNOW. I’M AFRAID I REMEMBER NOTHING ABOUT MY LIFE BEFORE I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD. SANS SAID I HAVE A BIT OF AMNESIA BUT I AM HIS BROTHER. THOUGH I’VE NEVER SEEN ANY PICTURES OF ME WITH SANS AND OUR PARENTS” I tense up and my eye sockets go blank, if there was one thing I didn’t want to think back on, it was my parents.

I notice Frisk giving me an expectant look like they wanted me to tell my story about them. I could feel my right hand shaking and visions of what happened in my past. I grew more and more scared by the second before putting on my lazy facade to try to get out of it. “heh, tibia honest kid. i think you’re a little young to be hearing sad stories, cause what happened didn’t have a happy ending. you two go on and eat breakfast. i think i’ll head to grillby’s. i’ll see ya around kiddo.” I say before standing up and walking out the door, immediately using my shortcut to arrive at Grillby’s restaurant. It was still going to be a couple hours before Grillbz opened but I had to get away from there. Everything that the kid explained, Papyrus getting nervous. The sheer mention of my parents. It made my soul ache. I honestly thought I had given up. That I wouldn’t care anymore about the things happening. But now, I can’t afford not to care in this situation. I need to find out who this Gaster is before Papyrus tries to find out. It’s time that I continue my research about where Papyrus came from. I can’t let him know that he technically isn’t my brother. I guess the first place I should start looking is the place I never expected to go back to. The underground. There must be some answers in the true lab.

I focus as hard as I can and use my shortcut as far as I can go before it makes me exhausted to use my magic to go that far of a distance. I managed to reach where the barrier used to be. I’ll need to rest a little and be prepared for a journey. Since there are no more monsters to take care of the core, it will be hotter there than usual. And then there is that talking flower I need to be aware of. Actually, he may have answers. But I highly doubt he will give me the answers I want. That soulless creature should honestly be burning in hell for the time shenanigans they pulled before the kid showed up. Thinking about that flower just expanded the choices on where I could go first once I am rested. The ruins where that flower most likely is, my old house with that machine in the basement, the true lab where there is mostly Alphys’s research, or the Core, where I found Papyrus. Given my options, I may as well work backwards, I’ll head to the core first before going to the true lab, pass through waterfall to see if I have a remote chance to pass that hallway the kid mentioned, followed by my old home and then the ruins. I need any answers I can find.

Papyrus’s POV

It was odd of Sans to just leave like that. Even stranger when Grillby’s doesn’t even open for another couple of hours. I hope what I said didn’t hurt him, but I just can’t lie to the human. I trust them so much and feel like they have done no harm. But the way they mentioned this Gaster’s hands, it reminded me of my hands. I managed to avoid the question about my gloves a few times since only Sans knows about them but I know I’ll eventually cave in by the human. It makes me scared if they’ll think of me any different. I worked so hard to become popular that it feels like if they knew I was lying to them about something, it would make me less cool. “H-HUMAN, SINCE SANS IS GOING TO BE INGESTING THAT GREASE HE CALLS FOOD, WHY DON’T WE INDULGE IN SOME OATMEAL? I MANAGED TO FIND MY FAVORITE KIND WHILE SHOPPING THE OTHER DAY. THE ONE WITH THE DINOSAUR EGGS. NYEH HEH HEH HEH~” I do my signature laugh to try to show Frisk that nothing was wrong.

I take my hands out of my pockets and head over to the kitchen. Food always makes things better and helps me take my mind off of my troubles. Frisk follows me to the kitchen. I sincerely hope they would drop the topic once we are at the table. They’re still young and Sans made a point that they don’t need to know something so sad. Even I never really got an answer out of Sans about our parents except that they had died. I just want to know what they looked like, what their names were and if they were as cool as I could only imagine them to be. I know, Undyne told me that Alphys keeps a registry of all monsters that had existed in the underground. I’m sure that I can find my family tree and find out about my parents. I’ll have to give Undyne a call after breakfast, since I can’t leave the human alone, they can accompany me. I make two servings of oatmeal for me and Frisk and set them at the table where they await eagerly, I next set the sugar, butter and milk on the table in case the food is too dry for them. I had worked so hard that it is a bit disappointing that Sans had to leave without eating. I shall give him a call too later. I hope he wont be mad that I am digging through the past to find my own answers. I think to myself before smiling to Frisk and we help ourselves to a delicious breakfast made by the magnificent me.


End file.
